Ruby’s Rhapsody

by Budge, Vicki Hunt

  * * *

  Ruby rode home from church with Nellie, Evan, and baby Zillah. Her three youngest sister’s rode with them in the back of the wagon. Her parents rode in the wagon behind them with Mrs. Stribling and Ruby’s other sisters. Mrs. Stribling often had Sunday dinner with Ruby’s family since her husband had passed away a few years ago. For several years in the past, Ruby had rolled her eyes at Mrs. Stribling’s bizarre behaviors. Now that Ruby was more mature, she found the older lady quite delightful with her eccentric ways.

  Ruby wasn’t sure where Charlie went after the church services. Neither her brother or Nathan had shown up outside where people liked to congregate and chat for a while before dispersing to their various homes. She didn’t worry about Charlie, knowing he’d show up sooner or later when the food was ready.

  Ruby did miss seeing Nathan though. After spending such a wonderful day with him yesterday, she had hoped to invite him to dinner today. The man’s moods were so unpredictable though. He became totally social around her family, but retreated into a dark place when he fiddled. Even though Nathan’s fiddling was lively and spirited, it almost seemed as if he didn’t really enjoy it. Was it because his grandfather taught him to fiddle, and now his grandfather had passed on? Why couldn’t the man realize what a beautiful heritage he had, and that his grandfather would want him to fiddle with joy?

  Once Ruby arrived home, she quickly changed her clothes and went to help her mother in the kitchen. Meals were usually simple on Sunday: cold cooked beef or ham, potatoes that had roasted in Dutch ovens overnight, applesauce, pickles, bread, and always pies or a cake. The kitchen still smelled of blackberry pies that had been baked the night before and sat over on a sideboard in her mother’s pie safe.

  There were so many helpers in the kitchen that Mrs. Gardner asked Ruby to go into the parlor and play hymns while the rest of the family finished getting the meal ready. Ruby did so gladly, especially because her youngest sisters were already in the parlor playing with baby Zillah. She could play hymns and enjoy the baby at the same time.

  Ruby’s lips turned up pleasantly when she heard Nathan’s voice coming from the kitchen, but she kept playing. She was not inclined to rush into the other room to welcome him, although that’s exactly what she wanted to do. Her father would call her and the younger girls when dinner was ready, and that would be soon enough.

  After a short time, she looked up to see Nathan standing in the parlor doorway, watching her intently and tapping his fingers on his lips. Her fingers trembled as they continued moving over the keys. She increased the volume slightly, hoping he couldn’t hear her heart pounding in her chest. She played until her father came into the parlor a few moments later and announced that dinner was ready.

  The Gardner home was full of fun chatter and laughter as everyone took their seats around the huge dining room table. Ruby sat next to Mrs. Stribling and directly across the table from Nathan. She smiled at him, and he nodded in return. The chatter stopped when Mr. Gardner said, “Let us pray.” Heads bowed while he offered a blessing on the food and on his family and guests for the next few weeks. Soon the chatter started up again, along with the clatter of food being passed and silverware clinking against china.

  Mr. Gardner welcomed Nathan and Mrs. Stribling and thanked them for coming to share the meal with his family. The conversation turned to a discussion about Reverend Cary’s sermon, and after that, about the beautiful fall weather they had been having, and the bountiful harvest they had been blessed with. When the meal ended, Mr. Gardner turned his attention to Nathan, while the younger girls started clearing the table.

  “Thank you for coming out to talk with me on short notice,” Mr. Gardner said to Nathan. “As you probably know, Charlie and I leave first thing in the morning for our survey job. We’re meeting Evan at his house and the work we’ll do isn’t too far from his home. We’ll be gone for at least two or three weeks if all goes well, and we’ll camp in Nellie and Evan’s yard.”

  “Cora and I are going too!” Alice said, slipping up behind her father. Her face fairly danced with excitement as she commented on helping Nellie cook for the survey crew.

  “Yes, thankfully, you and Cora are going to look after us.” Mr. Gardner chuckled and placed his hand on his daughter’s arm. “We would be a sorry bunch of men out in the sagebrush if we didn’t take our renowned cooks with us.”

  Alice giggled and took off, carrying a platter of leftover roast beef to the kitchen.

  Mr. Gardner turned and addressed Nathan again. “Our closest neighbors, the Tanners, look after my family while we’re gone, but my wife is concerned about a mountain lion rumor she heard last night at the dance. Normally, my youngest daughters walk to school and back without any problems, but under the circumstances, I’d feel better if someone transported them every day.”

  Nathan looked like he didn’t understand where the conversation was going. “Mr. Gardner, I’d be happy to help you if I could, but I don’t have a wagon or any way to transport your daughters.”

  Mr. Gardner nodded. “Well, here’s my situation. I take most of my wagons and horses, on the survey trip. Normally, I leave one wagon at home for my wife and daughters, but someone ran the rear wagon wheel into a boulder this week, and now the wheelwright told me this morning that he won’t have the wheel repaired until late tomorrow afternoon.”

  Ruby looked down and bit her lips to stop the giggles that threatened. She couldn’t stop the blush that crept across her face. After all, it was the first accident she’d had in all her years of driving the family wagon. She glanced up in time to see Nathan’s confused look turn into a smirk. He actually winked at her as though he knew it was she who ran the wagon wheel into the boulder.

  Nathan’s face quickly returned to his stoic look. “You want me to pick up the wagon tomorrow, along with your girls, and bring them out here?” he asked.

  Mr. Gardner cleared his throat, and smiled at his wife. “Well, yes, but more than that. You see, I’m no longer comfortable leaving my family behind when there have been mountain lion sightings. The blacksmith tells me that it’s more than a rumor. One of the farmers actually found a dead deer that had been drug up into one of the trees on the edge of his property. There were mountain lion tracks all around the tree. So, I’m wondering if you might pick up the wagon tomorrow, along with the girls, bring them out to the house, drive them back to school in the morning, and stay here with my family every night while I’m gone?”

  “Stay with your family?” Nathan asked, his voice rising in timbre as if he doubted that he’d heard correctly.

  Mrs. Stribling, who was known to be hard of hearing, apparently didn’t miss Mr. Gardner’s remarks. She covered her mouth and seemed to have a little coughing attack when Mr. Gardner nodded to Nathan.

  Ruby wondered if she had heard correctly. Nathan stay with her family every night while her pa was gone? Her parents must be extremely concerned about the mountain lion threat. She could not believe her good fortune. If Nathan agreed to help, he would be living right under the Gardner roof for at least two or three weeks? Plenty of time to erase those somber looks of his and get him to smile when he fiddles.

  “Yes, I’d like you to stay with my family every night if you’re willing,” Mr. Gardner said. “Mr. Jones speaks highly of you, and so does Reverend Cary. I need someone here that I can depend on. You can sleep in Charlie’s room and drive the younger girls into town for school each morning and back each afternoon. It would make my wife feel so much safer if there was a man in the house and helping the girls with the morning and evening outside chores. Is that asking too much?”

  “No . . . no, of course not. It’s just that . . .”

  “I’ll pay you for your time, of course, but I can’t leave town without knowing that someone capable is protecting my family.”

  “I won’t accept any money from you, sir.”

  “But you’ll do it?”

  Ruby looked at Mrs. Stribling who was coughing again. Was the wom
an grinning under the napkin she held to her mouth?

  “Certainly, sir. I’ll be happy to help your family.”

  Ruby’s mother looked at Nathan kindly, and thanked him. All of Ruby’s sisters smiled brightly, the two youngest even dancing around the room and clapping.

  Ruby wanted to dance around the room along with her sisters.

  6

  Monday morning dawned cool and crisp with low clouds mingling among splotches of blue sky. It had rained during the night, not enough to fill the road with mud puddles, but enough to give the air a refreshing cleanse. Ruby watched from the kitchen window as her father and Charlie harnessed the big work horses, hitched them to three supply wagons, and lined them up in front of the barn.

  She couldn’t help thinking how bitter sweet her father’s survey jobs were. Even though this job was only in Aspen Valley where Nellie and Evan lived, the family had to split up for a few weeks. There just wasn’t enough time to travel back and forth each day. Separating the family the way they did when some went out on the survey, and some stayed to take care of the farm and home, wasn’t easy on anyone. But the income the survey jobs provided was a huge blessing to the Gardner family, especially during the years when they had had a poor harvest.

  Ruby had taken her turn cooking for the survey crew over the years, but she preferred staying behind and helping her mother with the farm and home. This particular survey was unique because the survey was only in the next valley and the crew was camping on Nellie and Evan’s property. The whole crew planned to return home for the Saturday night dance and Sunday services except for Mr. Gardner and Charlie.

  A smile spread across Ruby’s face as she helped clean the kitchen and kept glancing out the window. She still couldn’t believe her father had asked Nathan to drive the younger girls to and from school and stay overnight with the family while he was away. She placed her hands to her mouth, trying to suppress her smile before one of her sisters noticed her giddiness and commented about it. Or worse, Charlie would figure out exactly why she was so happy and tease her.

  Once the chuck wagon was placed in back of the three survey wagons, and all the straps and buckles were double checked, Charlie strode through the kitchen door and announced that the crew was ready to leave. The whole family assembled outside not far from the wagons and eight snorting, pawing horses. Gunner, the family’s black and white border collie, added to the commotion, running around and sniffing everyone, yelping sometimes and whining the rest of the time.

  “I know,” Mr. Gardner said, bending down to pet his dog. “You want to go, but I need you to stay here and look after the family.”

  Gunner let out another yelp.

  Mr. Garner stood and kissed his wife. After hugging Ruby, he said, “I know you’ll take good care of your ma and sisters. I can always count on you.”

  “Thanks, Pa.” Ruby’s throat constricted and she barely got the words out. She hugged Cora and Alice, nearly crying as she did so. She didn’t always get along with either of them, but she loved them dearly and suddenly realized how much she would miss them while they were gone. She hugged her three younger sisters since they were riding into town with the survey crew. She even gave Charlie a hug, to his surprise. Her brother could be an impossible tease at times, but she loved him dearly.

  The combination of more than half of her family departing and the elation of Nathan coming to stay in their home brought tears to Ruby’s eyes. Life could be so complex, and she blinked several times, trying unsuccessfully to keep the tears from falling.

  Within minutes, those who were leaving climbed into the wagons and the horses leaned into their harnesses, plodding down the road toward town. Those left behind waved until the survey crew was long down the road.

  Ruby held onto Gunner until the wagon was out of sight. As she returned to the farm house, her thoughts turned to Nathan. She envied Zina, Fern, and Beth. They got to spend almost every day with Nathan in the schoolroom, watching his every move, enjoying the light in his eyes. She knew he smiled a lot in the classroom from listening to her besotted little sisters talk about him. But then she grinned, remembering that Nathan was bringing them home later in the day. Maybe, after staying with her family for days on end, he would smile more readily around her too.

  She couldn’t wait.

  Once Mrs. Gardner was back in the kitchen, she turned to Belle, and Ruby. It was obvious that she had been crying. “Do you think Nathan would take us to welcome that new family when he gets home with your sisters this afternoon?”

  “I’m sure he would!” Ruby gave her mother a hug, and tried to stifle her excitement. The plan to welcome the new neighbors thrilled her. Even though she was excited about Nathan staying with them each evening, she felt a little nervous about what she would say to him. Fellowshipping the new family sounded perfect because they’d have plenty to talk about as they made their plans. “Besides, if Nathan takes us to see the neighbors,” she added, “it would qualify as an official visit from their new schoolteacher.”

  “That’s exactly what I thought,” Mrs. Gardner said. “Let’s start baking. What sounds good to welcome the new family?”

  Mrs. Gardner, Ruby, and Belle spent the day baking cinnamon rolls and apple pie. The house filled with the sweet aroma of warm cinnamon and apples. The work kept Ruby from dwelling on how empty the house felt with half of her family gone. She also didn’t have time to dwell on how many hours until Nathan brought her younger sisters home. Energy seemed to course through her, and while the cinnamon rolls and pies baked, she helped her mother and Belle clean the kitchen and most of the house.

  Ruby gladly offered to clean Charlie’s room, which was certainly a first for her. She gave her brother’s room an extra good cleaning, knowing Nathan was going to spend each night there. By the time she finally heard Gunner barking and the family wagon rattling up the road toward their house, her nerves had turned into a jumble. Would Nathan talk to her while he stayed in their home? What would she say to him. He was spending every night for several weeks, and she still couldn’t believe it was happening.

  * * *

  Nathan and the younger girls sat at the kitchen table eating cinnamon rolls when Ruby walked into the room. She paused for only a moment, and then smiled. This amazing sight was to be hers for the next few weeks.

  The savory aroma of a shepherd’s pie baking in the oven filled the house, and Mrs. Gardner asked about going to welcome the new neighbors. “The new family live less than a mile away,” Mrs. Gardner said, “but we’ll have to hurry in order to go there and return home before dark.”

  Everyone looked at Nathan as if they needed his approval for the plan. He had just stuffed his mouth with the last of his cinnamon roll, but he nodded. He even smiled, the kind of smile one does when one’s mouth and cheeks are full. After he swallowed, Nathan offered his own version of how to welcome a new family to the community.

  “When a new family moved into the area where I grew up, our family would go serenade them,” Nathan said. “My parents dragged all us kids over to the neighbor’s home and expected us to sing our hearts out. Of course, we were a singing family, so everyone loved to participate.”

  “I want to go serenade the new family!” Zina yelled.

  Zina’s enthusiasm made Ruby chuckle. She had heard the new family had a boy about Zina’s age.

  In less than an hour after reaching Ruby’s home, Nathan was back on the wagon seat, this time with Mrs. Gardner and Ruby squeezed in beside him and the three younger girls in the back with cinnamon rolls and pies.

  “What shall we sing?” Zina asked.

  “You all know Keep on the Sunny Side, don’t you?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes!” the girls chorused.

  “How about The Cat Came Back?”

  “Yes!” the girls chorused again.

  “That’s a good one. What about Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder?”

  The girls hooted and hollered at that suggestion. They wanted to sing abo
ut the overalls in the chowder despite the fact that they’d never heard of the song.

  “Okay, if I can remember the words, I’ll teach it to you,” Nathan said. “It’s about a lady who served chowder at her party, and then fainted after finding a pair of worn out overalls in the bottom of the chowder pot.”

  “I love the chowder song,” Fern cried.

  “So, do we learn who threw the overalls in the pot?” Ruby asked, grinning at Nathan.

  “None of the guests.” Nathan winked at her and turned toward the girls in the back of the wagon. “It seems that earlier in the day, Mrs. Murphy put the overalls in the pot to wash them, and forgot about them. Then she made the chowder in the same pot.”

  The wagon rocked with Mrs. Gardner and all the girls laughing hysterically. They practiced singing all the songs the rest of the way to the new neighbors. They especially sang the chowder song with vigor.

  When they reached the Walker homestead, their voices were almost worn out from laughing and singing, but everyone was excited about one more round for the neighbors. They found Mrs. Stribling at the Walker home, along with Mr. and Mrs. Jones. They were standing in front of Mrs. Stribling’s carriage handing over baked goods and a deep dish of something that smelled wonderful.

  “Well, Nathan, I see you have a new family,” Mrs. Stribling said as he and the Gardner family climbed down from their wagon. “It’s about time.”

  Color rose to Nathan’s face, and Ruby felt embarrassed for him. Mrs. Stribling’s comments could be shocking. The new family certainly appeared to appreciate the outspoken woman though.

  “I convinced the Joneses here that a ride in the country air would be good for them,” Mrs. Stribling said. She beamed proudly. “But we won’t stay. I’m not wanting to over tax anyone, least of all the Joneses or myself.”

  “Don’t you want to hear us sing?” Beth cried out. “We practiced our songs to serenade everyone all the way over.”